Fun n focus dog training

22/08/2024

Absolutely 💯❤️

YOU are the only person who can train your dog for every day situations unless you want a ‘live in’ dog trainer. 😜

Getting angry with our dogs for ‘misbehaving’ when we have never trained them how to behave is extremely unfair. How would we feel if we were never taught how to do our job, yet shouted at daily because we kept getting it wrong?

If we want our dogs to respond when we really need them to, then we have to train hundreds of repetitions of that behaviour before we need it so that they know exactly how to respond to that request, just as instantly as we respond to touching the breaks when the traffic lights turn red.

Training things like ‘settle’ or ‘go to mat’ means we have control when visitors come. It also means we can communicate with them that play time is over and we are busy for the next hour, so it’s time to relax for a bit.

If we dont want them to dart out the door the moment it’s open, shouting at them when we HAVE to open the door will never change a thing, we must train hundreds of repetitions when no one is at the door so that they know how to behave at the door as automatically as we lock it every day.

We put in hours a week to help our young children learn, be it speaking, social conduct or homework. We do it becuse its the ONLY way to help them understand the world, gain the necessary skills, be able to communicate with them and teach them to behave accordingly in a social environment, yet we train our puppies to merely sit, give a paw and then wonder why our adult dogs are so ‘naughty’ and don’t ‘listen’ when we need them to, but how can they possibly respond If they don’t even know what to ‘listen’ out for? If we don’t teach them what to do, then it’s quite simply our fault, it’s a lack of parenting on our part. Repeatedly telling them what not to do isn’t training, nor is it a language they understand.

If we genuinely want the best for our dogs then we seek help and educate ourselves so that in turn we can help and educate them. If not, then we cannot possibly blame them for simply being clueless as to what they’re supposed to do.

30/06/2024

30/06/2024

A big thank you to Millennium Signs for doing such a fab job. 🙏🙏

09/05/2024

Fun training session with his Lordship. Was very impressed how focused he remained despite the very loud noises from the sirens. Not perfect from me but the boy did fab 💙🐾🐾🐾👌

09/05/2024

Morning zoomies🤪🤪🐾🐾🐾

05/05/2024

💕L o v e💕

05/05/2024

Exploring new routes on a beautiful morning ❤️🐾🐾🐾

02/05/2024

Love this❤️🐾🐾🐾

One of my favourite things to see is when people give their dogs as much time as they want to sniff. Smell is the primary sense our dogs use to navigate, interpret, and make sense of their world. They can tell who has passed by and how long ago, and update themselves on their canine version of social media picking up the messages left by other dogs who have been there earlier.

The part of the dog's brain that is dedicated to analysing scent information is a huge proportion of their brain compared to ours (around 40 times the size), and they have up to 300 million scent receptors while humans have around 6 million. These facts alone highlight the importance of olfactory information and sniffing for our dogs.

Sniffing is one of the most instinctive and natural behaviours our dogs possess and giving them time to sniff is a free and incredibly easy way to add enrichment into their lives. Sniffing is also great brainwork as they hunt out and interpret the differents scents they encounter.

A 20 minute period spent out of the house sniffing and interpreting the scents they discover (a sniffy walk or 'sniffari') can often tire a dog out as much as an hour's 'normal' walk, and is also really good for younger dogs (post-vaccination or in safe areas where dogs of unknown vaccination and health status don't go) and senior dogs who aren't quite as mobile and fit as they used to be.

The more time I spend watching my dogs investigating and interpreting their world through their noses the more fascinated I become by observing them, and the more clearly I can see how much enjoyment and pleasure they get from having time to carry out this most doggy of behaviours.

So let them sniff - they will appreciate you even more for giving them the time and opportunity.

You can help tell the world about the importance of sniffing with some of the designs available at the GG store 😊 Find it here: https://good-guardianship.teemill.com/

28/04/2024

Lovely weather for a tea time stroll 🐾🐾🐾❤️

14/04/2024

Busy afternoon batch cooking for the king & Princess Peg 🐾🐾🐾🥰❤️

31/03/2024

Fab day for a riverside stroll with my best buddy ❤️🐾🐾🐾🦮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

31/03/2024

Llyn Crafnant Love this place ❤️🐾🐾🐾🐾

29/03/2024

Everyone who is thinking of getting dogs should read this because you need to understand this reality:

***I am a 21st century dog.***
-I'm a Malinois.
Overskilled among dogs, I excel in all disciplines and I'm always ready to work: I NEED to work.
But nowadays I get asked to chill on the couch all day everyday.

-I am an Akita Inu.
My ancestors were selected for fighting bears.
Today I get asked to be tolerant and I get scolded for my reactivity when another approaches me.

-I am a Beagle.
When I chase my prey, I raise my voice so the hunters could follow.
Today they put an electric collar on me to shut up, and you make me come back to you - no running - with a snap of your fingers.

-I am a Yorkshire Terrier.
I was a terrifying rat hunter in English mines.
Today they think I can't use my legs and they always hold me in their arms.

-I'm a Labrador Retriever.
My vision of happiness is a dive into a pond to bring back the duck he shot to my master.
Today you forget I'm a walking, running, swimming dog; as a result I'm fat, made to stay indoors, and to babysit.

-I am a Jack Russell.
I can take on a fox, a mean badger, and a rat bigger than me in his den.
Today I get scolded for my character and high energy, and forced to turn into a quiet living room dog.

-I am a Siberian Husky.
Experienced the great, wide open spaces of Northern Europe, where I could drag sleds for long distances at impressive speeds.
Today I only have the walls of the house or small garden as a horizon, and the holes I dig in the ground just to release energy and frustration, trying to stay sane.

-I am a border collie
I was made to work hours a day in partnershipwith my master, and I am an unmistakable artist of working with the herd.
Today they are mad at me because, for lack of sheep, I try to check bikes, cars, children in the house and everything in motion.

I am ...
I am a 21st century dog.
I'm pretty, I'm alert, I'm obedient, I stay in a bag...but I'm also an individual who, from centuries of training, needs to express my instincts, and I am *not* suited for the sedentary life you'd want me to lead.
Spending eight hours a day alone in the house or in the garden - with no work and no one to play or run with, seeing you for a short time in the evening when you get home, and only getting a small toilet walk will make me deeply unhappy.
I'll express it by barking all day, turning your yard into a minefield, doing my needs indoors, being unmanageable the rare times I'll find myself outside, and sometimes spending my days sunk, sad, lonely, and depressed, on my pillow.
You may think that I should be happy to be able to enjoy all this comfort while you go to work, but actually I’ll be exhausted and frustrated, because this is absolutely NOT what I'm meant to do, or what I need to be doing.
If you love me, if you've always dreamed of me, if my beautiful blue eyes or my athletic look make you want me, but you can't give me a real dog's life, a life that's really worth living according to my breed, and if you can't offer me the job that my genes are asking, DO NOT buy or adopt me!
If you like the way I look but aren't willing to accept my temperament, gifts, and traits derived from long genetic selection, and you think you can change them with only your good will, then DO NOT BUY OR ADOPT ME.
I’m a dog from the 21st century, yes, but deep inside me, the one who fought, the one who hunted, the one who pulled sleds, the one who guided and protected a herd still lives within.
So think **very** carefully before you choose your dog. And think about getting two, rather than one, so I won't be so very lonely waiting for you all day. Eight or ten hours is just a workday to you, but it's an eternity for me to be alone.
Like David Attenborough Fans for more:

21/03/2024

Frozen treats made for the fur kids 🐾🐾🐾

21/03/2024

So very true. 25 years on and my heart still breaks when I think of my boy Dillon💔🌈🐾

🐾🐶

20/03/2024

Building on confidence.

Our walks usually involve walking over a bridge at some point, & most have a noisy waterfall close by or loud traffic. Even though I started our boy’s habituation and socialisation to the outside world before he was fully vaccinated ( carrying him everywhere) he has always been slightly nervous walking over bridges, therefore I’ve been taking every opportunity to build confidence & resilience on our outings, but without putting him under any stress as I don’t want him to become anxious, causing him to have a negative association with bridges.
Today was a big win 😀😀.
This is the longest and busiest bridge we walk over, usually involves walking close to other dogs, sometimes off lead, lots of noise and lots of people. All can be quite scary to a young dog.
I let Elvis make his choices, although I did give him lots of encouragement and praise.
There was a bit of lip licking to start with,signaling to me he was feeling a little unsure but once he was actually on the bridge his confidence grew.
I jackpotted him at the other end. Lots of treats and lots of praise.
A great positive experience 🐾🐾🐾

20/03/2024

Love this girl so much. 🐾🐾❤️
Our beautiful old lady Princess Peggy.
Whilst having a young boisterous staffy brother may not be her first choice for a companion, she’s so tolerant and even licks his face.
A shinning example of her breed. Independent, loyal and so incredibly intelligent & we love her to bits.
Who could resist this gorgeous face.